How to use the resizer
Choose a PNG or JPG, pick the unit you think in (inches, centimetres or pixels), and type the finished width or height. With the aspect ratio locked, the other side follows. The DPI field defaults to 300, which is the right number for most printing. The preview updates as you type, and the note under the fields tells you the exact output in pixels, inches and centimetres, whether the original has enough detail for that size, and whether the result fits Cricut's Print Then Cut limit. Press Download PNG to save the file.
Your image never leaves your device. The page reads the file in your browser, draws it onto a canvas at the new size and builds the PNG there. There is no upload, no account and no copy kept after you close the tab. The one exception to remember is the file you download, which now sits in your downloads folder.
Pixels, inches and DPI
An image is a grid of pixels. DPI, or dots per inch, is a label that says how many of those pixels are spread across each inch when the image is printed. The file itself does not change when you change the DPI label; only the printed size does. A 3000 pixel wide image printed at 300 DPI is 10 inches wide, and the same image at 150 DPI is 20 inches wide but with half the detail per inch.
That is why the tool treats the size in inches and the DPI together. When you enter 8 inches and 300 DPI, it makes a file 2400 pixels wide. If you switch to pixels, the DPI stops mattering for the output, but the summary still shows what the size would be in inches at your DPI.
The Print Then Cut limit
Print Then Cut is the Cricut feature that prints a design on your inkjet printer and then cuts around it. Cricut limits the printable image to 9.25 by 6.75 inches on a standard letter size sheet, because the machine needs room for the registration marks it uses to line up the cut. At 300 DPI that is 2775 by 2025 pixels in landscape, or 2025 by 2775 in portrait. The resizer checks both orientations and tells you if your size will not fit.
If a design is larger, Design Space either refuses it or shrinks it, and the shrink changes how the cut path lines up with the print. Resize in the tool first, so you decide what the final size is. Keep in mind that the 9.25 by 6.75 inch limit applies to the image area including any bleed or border that you want printed. If a design must be bigger, split it into parts or cut it from solid-color material instead.
The limits can differ if you use a different paper size, a different machine, or Cricut updates its guidance, so verify the current number in Design Space before a big print run. Cricut's Help Center and the Print Then Cut screen in Design Space state the current size.
Sublimation: what DPI to use
Sublimation prints are made at the final size. For mugs, tumblers, shirts and coasters, 300 DPI at the printed size is the standard target. A file that is 2400 pixels wide gives a clean 8 inch print, which fills the wrap on an 11 ounce mug. Lower resolution, such as 150 DPI at the print size, often looks fine on screen but soft once printed on a textured surface.
Remember to mirror a sublimation image in your design or print software before you print, because the design is flipped when it is pressed. This resizer does not mirror; it only changes size, so mirror in the app you use to print. For sizes of common blanks, see our HTV size chart, which lists mug and tumbler wrap areas.
Enlarging versus shrinking
Shrinking an image is safe. The tool does it in stages when the reduction is large, halving the size repeatedly before the final step, which keeps thin lines and small text cleaner than a single large jump. Enlarging is different. The browser has to guess the missing pixels, and the result is softer or blockier, no matter how the tool is built. If the note says the original has fewer effective DPI than you asked for, believe it. Try to find a larger original, ask the artist for a higher resolution file, or redraw it as a vector, since SVG artwork can be scaled up without losing quality.
Resizing also does not repair a poor image. A small, heavily compressed JPG will keep its blocky artifacts at any size. If you need a crisp cut file, a vector is the better source; if you need a print, start from a large PNG.
Mat sizes and why they matter for images
Cricut mats come in standard sizes, commonly 12 by 12 inches and 12 by 24 inches for the Explore and Maker lines, with 8.5 by 12 inch mats for the Joy Xtra. The cuttable area is slightly smaller than the mat, because of margins. If your resized image will be cut from a full sheet of vinyl or cardstock rather than printed, check that its size fits the mat you use, and leave a margin around the edges. A good habit is to resize to the size you want for the finished project, then place it on the Design Space canvas and look at the mat preview before you cut.
Transparency, JPG and file size
A PNG can have a transparent background, and the output keeps it. A JPG has no transparency, so the output will have the background of the original. The PNG you download can be larger than the original JPG, because PNG stores every pixel without lossy compression. That is normal. If the file is too large to upload to a marketplace, resize it to a smaller pixel width or convert it with your image editor.
Sources
The Print Then Cut size limit comes from Cricut's Help Center guidance and Design Space; confirm it in the app for your machine. DPI guidance reflects common practice for inkjet printing and sublimation. Checked November 2026.